How to save for your child’s future

How to save for your child’s future is something many parents think about and if we are honest stress about too. Whether you want to ensure they have money when they are students or have a deposit for rented accommodation in due course, helping ensure they have money available is a great gift to them. It is also an important life lesson to share that saving up makes sense.

How to save for your child’s future

Junior ISA account

One way to save money for your child’s future is to open a Junior ISA account.  These are good as your child does not pay tax on the interest they earn. You as the parent or guardian open the account but the money belongs to your child and can only be accessed when they turn 18 years of age. The Junior ISA limit is £4,260 for the 2018-19 tax year. If your child is aged 16 or 17, they can take out a grown-up cash ISA and save up to £20,000 a year, as well as up to £4,260 in a Junior ISA.

Regular savings accounts

You can open a savings account on behalf of your child and they can start managing it once they reach the age of seven which sounds very young to me. However, they do teach your child how to manage money and encourage them to save up for things they would like to buy. Some accounts ask as little as a £1 deposit to get the savings started and some offer gifts on opening the account. You can choose between easy access accounts and ones where the money has to be kept in the account for a certain term or there are penalties. . Interest rates are likely to be lower for instant access accounts.  I would argue that any regular savings account is not as good  a way to save for your child’s future as a Junior ISA.

Piggy banks

You may smile but piggy banks have stood the test of time. Used correctly they teach younger children that money is important and to be kept in a safe place. You can have educational sessions where you show them the coins and notes and get them doing basic arithmetic. You can start giving them pocket money and perhaps letting them earn it by helping with chores around the home.

Other options

There are more complex options to reflect on if you want to save for your child’s future. These include tax-exempt plans from Friendly Societies, Premium Bonds and even Child Pensions.

The good news

Even if you managed to save just £10 per month for your child, by the time they turned 18 they would have over £2000 which would help them with things like driving lessons or university costs.

You might like to find out what children think about money.

 

 

 

 

 

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